I want total freedom on how I form my groups or join up with groups to complete content.

I would like a channel to form groups so world spam isn't constantly plagued with LFG shouts.

I do want a random LFG dungeon finder to form groups as well. I've made long lasting friendships in games from such a random chance meeting. I don't want these groups to be locked out from just adding other members later on. I do want the choice of what area to explore with them, but I don't want to be automatically transported to them.

I would love to have the ability to have preformed groups that we can go out into the world and compete for content. Also, I would love to have a system that takes the criteria of what I'm looking for and match me up with random other players. Also, when we lose a player as a group leader it would be nice to have some kind of box we can select critera for our replacement. The travel to the group could be instantaneous game mechanic or could be a user/group type game mechanic that you have to learn or earn.

Grouping has always been a tough thing in the EQ series so I think the best way to fix this is to have a system that does random matching based on the criteria set by those who want to group randomly. For instance, level, classes needed for the group or your own class used to match you up in the right group. Balanced groups would be awesome, this will be a tough system but Counter Strike: GO has this type of system but for competitive play and it works pretty well. In EQN though, if you get into a group and it's not working out; you just jump back into the queue and the queue recognizes that it shouldn't match you in the same previous group.

Preformed groups or duos or whatever you want is nice, but a system that gives us real choice when we have an hour or so to group would be outstanding. Imagine you get a flag to a zone that not a ton of people have, you can enter into the tool and not need to set in a zone begging for a group.

this is where it should be like in EQ1 near launch. You use chat to LFG, you make groups, you eventually learn who is good and then you have set groups later on or at least set pool of players for groups that you like.

The lack of talking in groups randomly formed by a matching feature is terrible. We want a community that actually interacts with each other at some level. random grouping in games pretty much has no talking from my experience.

I would love to have the ability to have preformed groups that we can go out into the world and compete for content. Also, I would love to have a system that takes the criteria of what I'm looking for and match me up with random other players. Also, when we lose a player as a group leader it would be nice to have some kind of box we can select critera for our replacement. The travel to the group could be instantaneous game mechanic or could be a user/group type game mechanic that you have to learn or earn.

Grouping has always been a tough thing in the EQ series so I think the best way to fix this is to have a system that does random matching based on the criteria set by those who want to group randomly. For instance, level, classes needed for the group or your own class used to match you up in the right group. Balanced groups would be awesome, this will be a tough system but Counter Strike: GO has this type of system but for competitive play and it works pretty well. In EQN though, if you get into a group and it's not working out; you just jump back into the queue and the queue recognizes that it shouldn't match you in the same previous group.

Preformed groups or duos or whatever you want is nice, but a system that gives us real choice when we have an hour or so to group would be outstanding. Imagine you get a flag to a zone that not a ton of people have, you can enter into the tool and not need to set in a zone begging for a group.

This would be about choice.”

I think EQ's biggest problem with grouping was lack of players using such tools to form groups. Multi-boxing also plagued the group scene - tank / healer two boxer's didn't need to group for 95% of the content, and when they did need to group, few wanted to group with a two boxer in my experience. Some were adequate at multi-boxing, but I always preferred a full balanced group with each character being manned by their own player. Although this gameplay may not support multi-boxing, somehow players will figure it out.

And here we go, a topic that for me could be the final nail. I absolutely don't want to see the easy matchmaking system as featured in so many MMOs nowadays. And with that, I mean the game automatically bringing players together who want to run certain content with the inclusion of instant travel or worse this being done cross-server. The game shouldn't be creating the groups for you because it will inevitably lead to there being no community to speak of.

And why even the inclusion of dungeon as the example in the question? I was under the impression there would be no true dungeons and raids in this game.

David Georgeson: I completely agree.

Jeffrey Butler: Agreed. Matching can be problematic. Instant matching by the game tends to lead to people just rushing through the content never saying anything to each other and never forming a new friendship.

Steven Klug: Yes, grouping should be accessible for all type of players but instant matching is not needed to even achieve this. A simple and old-fashioned looking for group tool which shows you who is looking for which class or simply more players and with the mention for what content they need help is more than enough and it forces players to communicate with each other just to get a group going. And as for shy people? I am shy inside games as well. I far more outspoken on a forum than I am in games and yet I absolutely prefer to not have the community destroyed by nobody having to ever say anything to one another.

Terry Michaels: Finding people to do similar things can be done without the game matching you without having to do anything yourself to get the group formed.

Darrin McPherson: I prefer the same social bonds.

Michael Mann: Options are only best to a certain point. Too many MMOs show that if you offer all options players will only use the option that gives them least resistance. If there is match making as in a game like WoW (LFG/R) people will mostly use this. I believe it is universally accepted that WoW has little to no community thanks to such a tool. People can still create their own groups but random strangers just won't. And because they won't, those random strangers hardly ever become new friends. Nobody makes a lasting impression on one another if nobody ever has to talk to get a group going. This behavior also led to wanting to consume instanced content as fast as possible to maximize reward gain per day.

I like the social aspect of having to TALK to some people and FORM social bonds. But i also like to fill up a group to get stuff started. So i see both points.

What could a mixture be?
Maybe some kind of dungeon finder, but you can only start it if you already have two people, or are at least grouped up with one more. Depending on how large groupsize is going to be.

This would mean social interaction is needed, which id GREATLY favor, but also lead to faster finding of peeps to fill up that missing slots. As a side effect it would mean that noone in the group is "alone", but everyone knows at least ONE person, or at the very leased talked to one person of the team before.

Groupsizes of 4 or better 6 would fit this system well. I favor 6 for groupsize anyways. Hated the 5 man limit in WoW and even more hated games with 4.

In my experience, random match queues don't seem to work very well. It might be helpful if you really need to get a group together quickly. But i'm skeptical. I don't like not having control over who i'm grouping with.

I would suggest a sort of bulletin board where you can post an LFM which shows what dungeon in which you are adventuring in, what level range you are looking for and maybe what classes you want. If someone else that sees the LFM fits the criteria and wants to join, they can apply at which point the leader has the ability to accept/decline applicants.

And of course we should have the usual ability to manually invite people to our group from friends lists, chat channels, etc.

So it seems like as usual, a balance is probably the best way to go. But i'd shy away from random queues.

I dislike group makers as it takes away the social aspect of the game. Having to talk to people and deal with them, both good and bad, is a part of what makes an MMO and MMO.

Look if you cannot aim a gun in a FPS then you don't play FPS games. So why have MMOs moved to the point where if you don't want to be social and talk to others you don't have to? (other than the obvious answer of MMOs are huge money making items and the point is to be greedy as **** and make all the money so if it came down to selling drugs and kidnapping babies companies would do it to turn a buck.)

I cant vote on this because the option i would prefer isn't there. I think that I, as a casual player and without many connections in most games i play, nor the ability/time to create them, should be able to play "group content" as a solo player. I feel like I am less important to the dev's when i cant do the same thing (i dont care if i get any gear for it or even get crappy gear) until i am 10+ levels higher than the content itself. I want to see the game, with or without friends/group, and I dont want to be forced into grouping up with random F-***** who get me killed multiple times, causing extended play periods (when i dont have time to waste to begin with.) Make it soloable, give me the story behind it, and kick me out of the instance, flash a big warning up on the screen that "you will not recieve any rewards for this if you do it without a group" or something i dont care. but give me the option to see the content, please?

“I think EQ's biggest problem with grouping was lack of players using such tools to form groups. Multi-boxing also plagued the group scene - tank / healer two boxer's didn't need to group for 95% of the content, and when they did need to group, few wanted to group with a two boxer in my experience. Some were adequate at multi-boxing, but I always preferred a full balanced group with each character being manned by their own player. Although this gameplay may not support multi-boxing, somehow players will figure it out.”

Those problems were the big issue early on, when the zones were full. Yes, later in the years multi-boxing and the tools they had were a huge problem. In the end though multi-boxing I never saw as really hurting the game because the players doing it weren't really going to go out and LFG for hours anyway so they wouldn't have been playing. They mostly just a pain when it came to finding grouping spots.

Personally I need a way to get a group fast and to find replacements in groups fast. Adding the choice for this in my opinion won't hurt the game. It will give more people like myself access to the game. This is a feature that doesn't need to be forced on everyone either, this would be for those who want to find a group in the manner which I'm recommending. Everyone else would be free to LFG for as long as they like, or make premade groups which I do often myself when I have the weekend.

This is kind of a mixed bag for me. I personally prefer having an LFG channel and people finding groups in there, it's not as hard as some people make it sound on other MMO forums. At the same time any time a game has that system it's filled with complaining that it's too hard to find groups without a match making system. I like getting a group together and staying together and as has been mentioned with those systems people group for the content and then leave right away.

I could settle for a slight middle ground that other MMO's have had. Have the LFG channel, but also have a non automated system LFG system you can put yourself in and people can look to see who's in there. Also have a brief tutorial on it and explaining it since seems every time an MMO does that majority of the people don't even know about it.

I'd love the option to go in with a preformed group or to randomly be matched up with people for smaller dungeons. That "The game should create a group based on preferences" could be interesting but I'm not entirely sure what it means? Like, if there were a checkbox saying "boss only / healer" and that person would be put in a group marked with boss only/tank etc etc?

Regardless, I hope that for larger dungeons it can be flexible so it wouldn't matter if you were down or up 6+ people.

Freedom of choice is best here, as usual. BUT, I'd like to see something different done about the standard global matchmaking system. Instead of the LFG tool being accessible anywhere, for any dungeon, why not bring out the good ol' MEETING STONES. You come up to the dungeon, activate the stone and then you can either teleport in your friends, or activate the stone like a beacon, visible some ways out, and maybe sending a message to anyone in the area. It could be frustrating of course, if no one shows up, but at least it would promote a closer community.

Group finders are an essesntial tool for any modern MMO, there's absolutely no reason why not to include them.

You want your players to be able to enjoy the game with others as conveniently as possible, and modern LFG tools do exactly that. Despite the "popular" opinion, there's absolutely nothing social about spamming local/world/trade chat with LFG messages over an over again.

Besides, those who prefer to not use such modern tools have the option to avoid them, it's really that simple!

I like the option to group with my friends/guildies, but would also like the option to have a LFG tool to hook up with folks at random to complete a dungeon when my friends are unavailable or if I'm looking to meet new people or get a quest done.

In Rift, their LFG tool allowed you to "check" what classes you could play (healer, tank, dps, etc). So when the random group was made, you weren't stuck with 4 tanks and no healer.

Not knowing fully how the classes are going to work out, I'm not sure if it'll be necessary.

“Group finders are an essesntial tool for any modern MMO, there's absolutely no reason why not to include them.

You want your players to be able to enjoy the game with others as conveniently as possible, and modern LFG tools do exactly that. Despite the "popular" opinion, there's absolutely nothing social about spamming local/world/trade chat with LFG messages over an over again.

Besides, those who prefer to not use such modern tools have the option to avoid them, it's really that simple! ”

Yes, you have the option to avoid the tools but that doesn't change the fact that the tools still exists and the vast majority of the "community" only using the tools in which they don't have to be social. The vast majority simply uses something which allows them to take the road of least resistance and they don't care if it destroys the sense of community or world depending on the type of tool. This is great for the individual but not so much for the game overall.

And you just can't tell me that WoW's way of creating groups made the game very social. WoW is the ultimate example of how to create a grouping system in which nobody ever says a word to each other. At least with an old-fashioned looking for group tool you need to talk to another person in order to even get in a group, no response, no group. Having to already say something leads to people saying more.